Secret Warriors #25 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (art), IFS (colors), and Dave Lanphear (letters)

The Story: The origins of Leviathan are revealed in a team-up of epic proportions.

The Review: Secret Warriors #25 is a very interesting issue, if for no other reason that it once again points to Jonathan Hickman carving his own little corner in the Marvel Universe.  His idiosyncratic SHIELD series bleeds over into Secret Warriors this month, and the result is that much of what makes that series good bleeds over.  That and, at a more basic level, it’s just pretty damned cool seeing Hickman’s hidden city and Leonardo Da Vinci in Secret Warriors.  It even threatens to make SHIELD feel less cryptic and inaccessible in a way, but I digress.  The presence of Da Vinci in particular (though he’s never actually named as such) makes everything seem way heavier and more significant and given the scope of SHIELD, it raises the game, and the stakes, as far as Secret Warriors is concerned.  Given that we’re heading to the series conclusion, that’s definitely a good thing.

As far as the plot goes, this is an issue that really lives up to the “Wheels Within Wheels” moniker.  Seeing all the power players of the Marvel spy-world working together under Da Vinci, regardless of what side they may be on, is damned cool.   Seeing Kraken, Baron Strucker, Fury, and hand ninjas all the same team is awesome and makes their shared goals seem all the more important.  Oh, and you even get to see who’s behind Kraken’s mask.

Unlike what has often been the case with the series, the story is still very large this month, but it’s also focused enough to feel excited about.  The characters are easy to root for, if for nothing but name value, and seeing the birth of Leviathan feels important.  And that’s the meat of it really: this issue feels important, not tangential or digressive.  That’s no small feat given that many of the series characters play no role this month and almost the entire issue is a flashback.  It’s an issue that feels vital and exciting and fully comprehensible, despite the massive and largely unfamiliar cast and the non-linear nature of it.

Secret Warriors #23 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Alessandro Vitti (art), IFS (color), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: John Garrett tells Druid he’s not done and trains him to reach his true potential.

What’s Good: It’s great to see Sebastian back.  He was always my favourite of the Caterpillars, as I found him to be likable and the most relatable.  He’s a cool character with a lot of untapped power and I’ve been looking forward to this issue ever since Alexander’s prophecy about him being a great hero.

And really, watching the transformation process here is a treat.  It’s really fun to see Druid go from portly, incompetent dude to spec ops badass.  Jonathan Hickman also pulls no punches when it comes to Druid’s power levels here; once trained, he does some truly amazing, “holy shit” type stuff.

The bond between Garrett and Druid is also a good one and happily fulfills the always-enjoyable gruff teacher/student lacking self-confidence dynamic as Garrett cuts to the heart of Druid’s psychology.  In many ways, I think Druid’s story here is wish fulfillment for many readers here.  Hickman’s work has often been about defying limitations, and while these limitations are often cosmic in scope, here we see him applying the same message to personal limitations.  Basically, if you want to be in shape, work out.  If you want to be good at your job, apply yourself.  And if you want to be a badass, learn to believe in yourself.  It’s the sort of message, and narrative, that is easy for a reader to get behind and it’s hard not to love Druid even more afterward.

Alessandro Vitti delivers what you’ve come to expect from him, and his depiction Druid’s power is impressive.  More than that though, I was especially impressed by Vitti’s depiction of Druid’s physical transformation.  After his training, he’s not ripped or anything, but it’s clear he’s a different guy and that he’s in shape.  Despite that though, Vitti makes it clear that the character is still most definitely Sebastian.  It’s no mean feat to so dramatically change a character’s body type while keeping him completely recognizable.